Woolwich Terror Attack
On Wednesday, two Islamist terrorists brutally stabbed and chopped British soldier Lee Rigby to death with knives and meat cleavers in broad daylight in the neighborhood of Woolwich in South-East London, UK. The attack has led to a media firestorm because the onlookers who quickly surrounded the murder scene recorded the suspects as they waited for police to arrive. The suspects spoke to many of the onlookers, explaining the reasons for their horrific display of violence:
“We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reason we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day. This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We must fight them. I apologize that women had to witness this today. But in our land, our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don’t care about you.”
These words have no doubt reignited controversy about the nature of Islam and its relationship with the Western world. Thankfully, though, people have been quick to denounce the murder as a horrific act that is completely outside the bounds of Islam. The Muslim Council of Britain, for example, said:
“This is a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly. This action will no doubt heighten tensions on the streets of the United Kingdom. We call on all our communities, Muslim and non-Muslim, to come together in solidarity to ensure the forces of hatred do not prevail.”
Similarly, British Prime Minister David Cameron said the blame “lies purely with the sickening individuals who carried out this attack.” He went on:
“This view is shared by every community in our country. This was not just an attack on Britain and on the British way of life; it was also a betrayal of Islam and of the Muslim communities who give so much to our country. There is nothing in Islam that justifies this truly dreadful act.”
Unfortunately, despite these strong words, there were still dozens of Islamophobic incidents reported in the wake of the tragedy and still a few unanswered questions. First, were the suspects Islamist terrorists acting as part of an organized network, or simply zealous criminals who acted alone? Most people, it seems, are leaning toward the latter explanation. This should (one hopes), take some of the pressure off the Muslim community, but it also means that such violent and unplanned attacks are more difficult to prevent in the future. Second, who should bear the responsibility for such acts of violence? Many people, like David Cameron, have said that the sole responsibility is on the individuals involved. I provide no argument to that sentiment here, but how much responsibility should the international community take? For example, according to what the two young men said at the murder scene, they were responding to foreign affairs as much as they were to religious ideology. Of course, now is not the time to make any knee jerk responses, but if we want to live in a free society that is by its very nature “vulnerable to an unexplained heavy violent attack,” I think it both necessary and important for governments (both at home and abroad) to exercise a certain degree of transparency so that individuals can better informed about the true state of international affairs. This is a tall (and fairly unrealistic) order that won’t solve the problem on its own, but if we are worried about preventing violence at home, we should at the very least be worried about participating in violence abroad.
Catholicism and Capitalism
Although the Catholic Church (at least in the US) continues to struggle with assimilating to the wider culture, Pope Francis appears to have no such struggles. This past week Pope Francis has become much more vocal in criticizing the global financial system – the wider culture if there ever was one – calling it a “cult of money” that rules instead of serves the poor. “If investments in banks fall,” he said, “it is a tragedy and people say ‘what are we going to do?’ but if people die of hunger, have nothing to eat or suffer from poor health, that’s nothing. This is our crisis today. A Church that is poor and for the poor has to fight this mentality.” Pope Francis’s focus on issues like poverty – Francis continues to shun the decadent papal apartment in order to live in a communal setting in the Vatican residence – is a welcome change to a papacy that has too long been caught up in abstract theology and overindulgent traditions.
Rob Ford & Crack
After detailing many of Rob Ford’s idiosyncratic slipups, The Daily Show’s John Stewart asked the question that many were thinking: “is this dude on crack?” Unfortunately, it seems like this might be an all too true reality for the embattled Toronto Mayor. Rumours of a video that shows Rob Ford smoking crack with local Toronto drug dealers arose this past week, with news sites like Gawker creating a crowdfunding campaign called “Crackstarter” to purchase the $200k rights to the video – Gawker has currently raised over $145k.
When Canadian politicians receive international press, I like to read international clippings to get a good handle on how non-Canadians see our fearless political leaders. New York Magazine, for example, posted an unflattering article (To be honest, I don’t know how you could post a flattering article about Rob Ford right now. An empathetic article, maybe; but flattering, no) listing “20 Things Worth Knowing About Rob Ford.” Here is how Salon answered the question, ‘Who is Rob Ford?’: “Rob Ford is like the crotchety, obnoxious relative who embarrasses everyone at family gatherings, belching and farting at the table. Somehow, though, he became the head of the family.” Unfortunately, Salon may be close to the truth because former newspaper publisher Conrad Black also said that Ford was “like the embarrassing guest at a family Christmas party.” A guest is probably the most accurate way to describe Ford’s current role in Toronto politics because it appears it is only a matter of time before he is removed from office.
